Assembly Election: Modi, Shah roaming in Maharashtra as BJP senses defeat, says Sharad Pawar
New Delhi, Oct 14: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on October 13 questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were holding a large number of rallies in Maharashtra if they saw "no fight" from the Opposition in the Assembly poll.
Maharashtra will head for polling in the state polls on October 21, along with Haryana. Counting of votes in both states will happen on October 24.
Addressing a poll rally in Chalisgaon, Pawar said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost sleep as the youngsters were gearing up to defeat the ruling party.
Pawar congratulated the BJP-led central government for abrogating Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, but also asked whether it had the courage to scrap Article 371 which gives special rights to some north-eastern states.
Sensing defeat, Pawar has lost restraint says Nadda
"The chief minister said he could not see an opponent for the BJP's wrestler in this poll battle. I am the president of Maharashtra grapplers association. Our grappler fights with another grappler and not others," Pawar said at a poll rally in Jamner.
"Why is the prime minister holding 9 rallies, Union home minister 20 rallies and chief minister 50 rallies if they think there is no fight? They have lost sleep as youngsters are up for defeating them. Hence, they are roaming in Maharashtra," he asked.
On Shah asking him to list what he has done for Maharashtra, Pawar said he strived to make the state number one in all areas, and took steps for growth of industries and, thereby, employment.
"I was chief minister when the employment guarantee scheme was implemented in Maharashtra in 1978," Pawar said.
Among
others,
Pawar
also
said
the
women
were
given
reservation
in
local
governing
bodies
when
he
led
the
state.
Pawar
reiterated
he
was
named
in
a
money
laundering
case
by
the
Enforcement
Directorate
in
connection
with
the
alleged
Maharashtra
State
Cooperative
Bank
scam
despite
not
being
a
member
of
the
bank.
Pawar alleged that factories and business have shut down on the BJP's watch.
The former Union agriculture minister claimed 16,000 farmers committed suicide during the BJP-Shiv Sena's rule.
He alleged "not even an inch" of progress was made in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in Arabian sea despite the BJP chanting name of the warrior king all the time.